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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26492050">"Let Him Speak Now or Forever Hold His Peace"</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarate_Man/pseuds/Jarate_Man'>Jarate_Man</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Happy Days</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1950s, Bisexual Male Character, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Lori ain't gonna no Cunningham in this tho lol, M/M, Mutual Pining, Period-Typical Homophobia, Rated T for one F bomb, Romantic Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:47:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,652</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26492050</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarate_Man/pseuds/Jarate_Man</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two chapters, two different types of feels, both centered around the idea of "What if Fonzie confessed to Richie on his wedding day?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Richie Cunningham &amp; Arthur Fonzarelli, Richie Cunningham/Arthur Fonzarelli</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>"Let Him Speak Now or Forever Hold His Peace"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sup everyone! I've recently became fixated on this show once more and my mind has officially gone crazy in shipping these two men together. As mentioned in the summary, there will be two chapters. This chapter is the "feel good, everything goes right" type of chapter, so you don't have to worry about heartbreak yet.</p><p>I hope you all enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Fonzie asked to stand in Richie’s place as he married Lori Beth over the phone, Fonzie exclaimed later that he couldn’t be happier. In reality, it felt like he might die.</p><p>Exaggeration, of course, but when one is in love, the realization that the person you want is going to tie the knot with someone else is enough to crush one’s soul. It’s even worse when it’s someone you know and <em> don’t </em>actually hate because what can you hate about them? She hasn’t done anything wrong and yet Fonzie can’t begin to describe how much jealousy was coursing through his veins when he thought of her.</p><p>He walked into the Cunningham house in his suit, the jeans too pressed for him to walk properly. It was torture walking into Richie’s house, not only because of the too-tight vest and tie, but because of the dawning realization that his friend was going to get married today.</p><p>He spoke to Chachi and the Allen family for a bit, trying to get rid of his nervousness and keeping himself calm so he wouldn’t break down. <em> This is real</em>, he thought. <em> This is really happening</em>.</p><p>Finally came the time when Richie called. He slowly walked over to the phone and waited for the reverend to finish speaking to the groom. His hands shook slightly as he grabbed the phone and talked to Richie.</p><p>“Richie!” He drawled out, a smile somehow appearing on his face. “How you doin’ huh?”</p><p>“I’m doing good,” Riche replied. Based on the tone of his voice, Fonzie knew he must have been grinning from ear to ear.</p><p>“You excited? You nervous?”</p><p>“Both,” Richie chuckled in embarrassment.</p><p>“Yeah, me too,” Fonzie admitted. “Hey, let me tell ya somethin’. I bet you can’t wait for Lori to get on that big bird and fly way up there to Greenland, huh?”</p><p>“No, I can’t.”</p><p>“Bet you excited for tonight too, huh?” The urge to throw up intensified when he said that. He knew he had to joke around like this to make sure Richie didn’t suspect anything.</p><p>He glanced over and said, “Sorry, Rev.” The reverend rolled his eyes and momentarily, Fonzie felt a little happiness at doing something that was making Richie laugh on the other line.</p><p>Yet the time was coming for reality to settle in. “Alright, Red. Here you go, you ready?”</p><p>Richie sighed and Fonzie could picture him shaking his head in his signature way. All he needed to do were the “Huh, huh, huh”s and it would be like before. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Richie replied.</p><p>“Well-”</p><p>“Is Potsie gonna sing?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Potsie’s gonna sing as always, that’s right.” As he raised the phone up, Fonzie said, “Hit it, Webber!”</p><p>A few moments of Potsie singing happened, all with Fonzie trying to ignore the sadness and heartbreak building up within him. He commented on everyone walking down the stairs. He could feel the anticipation coming from Richie as he waited for the bride-to-be.</p><p>“Richie, here she comes. It’s unbelievable.” Truly, it was unbelievable that Richie would get married someday. It was almost like Fonzie blinked and years passed by, gone too fast to even appreciate them. “She looks too good for words.” And he was right, so he could only do her justice by explaining Lori Beth in terms he understood.</p><p>“Remember that bike we saw in the window for $4,000? Think about that in a white dress.” Richie burst out laughing. Fonzie knew he was taking the spotlight now but he didn’t care. All that mattered was listening to the beautiful sound of Richie’s laughter.</p><p>“She just walked out the door, Rich.” Fonzie started chuckling at the manic sputtering coming from the other line. “I had you going for a minute there.” A relieved sigh came from Richie as waves of dread flowed over the mechanic.</p><p>“Alright look. We’re ready to go.” The music stopped and the silence was only heightening Fonzie's nervousness. “Her dad’s putting her on my arm. She’s on my arm.” <em> Even though I don’t want her anywhere near me. </em></p><p>Richie’s shaky breathing spurred Fonzie to say, “Good luck,” before passing the phone to the reverend. The reverend was reciting whatever passage he needed to read from the Bible, and Fonzie all but tuned it out until the ending.</p><p>“... let him speak now or forever hold his peace.” Howard Cunningham was about to say something, but it looks like the family’s favorite greaser had other plans.</p><p>“Objection!” Fonzie shouted, scaring everyone in the room. They all turned to look at him with a strange look on their faces.</p><p>“But Fonz, we’re not in-” Potsie was cut off with a raise of Fonzie’s hand.</p><p>“Am I able to talk to Red for a moment? I need to tell him somethin’ important.” His voice cracked, and everyone in the room who knew Fonzie knew this was a serious matter.</p><p>“You could use the phone in the kitchen, dear. We’ll make sure nobody hears you on this end.” He nodded and put the phone down, hesitantly stepping into the kitchen. He closed the doors that opened to the living room and stared at the phone. After a moment of deliberation, he picked it up and waited for it to connect to Richie.</p><p>“Ayyyy, Rich,” Fonzie said awkwardly when it connected. He didn’t know why he was doing this. What force was compelling him to admit his feelings at arguably the most important moment of Richie’s life?</p><p>“What did you want to talk about, Fonz?” Richie sounded curious, which was a shock to the older man because he thought Richie would be annoyed or worse, angry.</p><p>“Well, ya see… How do I put this?” <em> How </em> <b> <em>can </em> </b> <em> I put this? You can’t just go up to the man you’ve been in love with and say you’ve fallen for him years ago. Besides, it’s illegal to be homosexual. If it gets out that I admitted my feelings to Rich, what are they going to do to him? </em></p><p>“Uh, Fonzie?” The man shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.</p><p>“Sorry, uh. Lost my train of thought.” <em> What’s wrong with me? Why am I acting so… not me? Ok, I just have to be cool. I just have to act like I’m talking to a girl and telling them my feelings. </em></p><p>“Gosh, whatever’s bothering you must be bad, huh?” Richie joked. <em> Ah, fuck. </em></p><p>“Yeah,” Fonzie paused for a moment and thought to change tactics. “Say, Rich. Can I ask you somethin'?”</p><p>“Of course!” God, Fonzie thought he would melt from the happiness contained in those two words.</p><p>“So, metaphorically speakin’, if we were walkin’ together and I asked you out to eat, would you do it?”</p><p>“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”</p><p>“Ok, but…” He sucked in a breath, hoping this would work. “What if I took you somewhere fancy?”</p><p>He could feel Richie’s confusion coming from the phone. “Why would we go somewhere fancy? Why not just go to Arnold’s?”</p><p>“No, I mean…” Even if he was frustrated, he had to control himself. He couldn’t freak out or people would be concerned about what’s happening. “I mean like a date.”</p><p>A pause.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Richie asked, barely above a whisper.</p><p>He couldn’t take it anymore. Years of frustration flooded out of Fonzie as he hissed out, “I like you, Richie, that’s what I mean!”</p><p>Silence once more.</p><p>“You do?” Richie’s voice broke and Fonzie heard the thinly veiled hope contained in the man’s voice.</p><p>“Yeah, I do.” Fonzie sighed and sat down next to the phone.</p><p>“How long?”</p><p>“Since ya first stood up to me, I guess. I just knew I wanted to have ya around me. I would’ve neva thought I would fall in love with you.”</p><p>“I… Wow.” Fonzie didn’t like the sound of that. It scared him that Richie was taking everything so nonchalantly. He opened his mouth to say spur Richie on but the man beat him to the punch.</p><p>“I never thought you would feel the same.”</p><p>This time, it was Fonzie’s turn to be speechless.</p><p>“I…” He didn’t know what to say. He could feel his “Bad boy” person fade away with the tears now forming in his eyes. He afforded himself this moment of vulnerability to a man he had protected so many times before. </p><p>“Fonzie?”</p><p>“Arthur,” Fonzie replied quickly. “Just this once, you can call me Arthur.” If he was going to cry, why not give Richie his all? A name tied to abuse and neglect, a name he’s tried to avoid hearing, a name he’s loathed since his father left, was now a name that he wished, he <em> wanted </em> to hear Richie say. <em> If I could just hear Richie say my name</em>, he thought, <em> maybe, just maybe, I can live with it. </em></p><p>“Arthur,” Richie whispers into the phone, and even from here, <strike>Fonzie</strike> <em>Arthur </em>shivered from the amount of love contained in that one word.</p><p>“Richard,” Arthur replied, feeling weird for calling his best friend by his full name instead of the several other nicknames the man’s gathered. Yet it felt nice. It felt natural.</p><p>“Did you really have to tell me this on my wedding day?”</p><p>Arthur burst out laughing and even Richard started to chuckle. “Ayyy, listen. If I didn’t say it now, I woulda neva said it.”</p><p>Richard snorted. “That’s fair.”</p><p>The calmness within the mechanic melted away as his thoughts drifted to the bride-to-be. “Rich?” A hum came from the man on the phone. “What about Lori Beth?”</p><p>It took a while before Richard said anything. “Gosh, I… I don’t know.”</p><p>“If you wanna marry her, I understand. That’s fine with me. I could just-”</p><p>“No.” The word, sounding so final, stopped Arthur from speaking further. “No, I want to be with you.”</p><p>“Why me?” Arthur murmured.</p><p>Richard chuckled softly before replying. “Why <em> not </em> you?”</p><p>The egotist inside of Arthur was nodding his head in approval while the saner side of him was confused. “I’m a man, for one.”</p><p>“So am I.”</p><p>“This is illegal.”</p><p>“So we’ll keep it hidden.”</p><p>“What if someone hurts you?”</p><p>“I could just fight back. I’m not the defenseless teenager you’ve always known.”</p><p>“But…” His mind couldn’t accept this, <em> wouldn’t </em>accept this. “What can I ever give you that Lori Beth hasn’t?”</p><p>Richard didn’t respond, so Arthur finally allowed his thoughts to be shared with the other. “She could give you everything I could never. Kids, a nice relationship, a place to cook and feel loved, the typical dream everyone wants in their lives. What could I give you that she couldn’t?”</p><p>“You’re able to give me the love that I always wanted from someone.” Arthur was about to protest but Richard interrupted him. “Of course I care about Lori Beth, don’t get me wrong. She’s a sweet girl and all. But every time I was with her, I just imagined how much more I would like it if I was with you. Sure, she might be able to give me the life that ‘every man wants’, but that doesn’t include me. The life I want has you in it, right by my side.”</p><p>“Cunningham,” Arthur whispered, feeling the tears begin to build up.</p><p>“Not for long, I hope,” muttered Richard. It took the mechanic a few moments to realize what he meant, and boy, was he as red as a tomato. </p><p>“Do you mean…?” He left the question hanging, too scared to ask it fully.</p><p>“That I want to marry you?” Richard finished. “Yes, I do. I know we can’t actually get married, but we can still have something.”</p><p>“Gosh, Red.” He wiped the tears again spilling from his eyes. “This feels like a dream.”</p><p>“It honestly does…” A peaceful silence fell onto the two as they imagined what it would be like for them now that they <em> knew </em>. But all good things must come to an end as Richie softly said, “Fonzie?”</p><p>“Richie?” It hurt him a bit that they were going back to nicknames, but that was to be expected.</p><p>A pause. “Tell my parents that I was called to some military duty and that’s why I couldn’t stay on the phone.”</p><p>“And if they don’t believe me?”</p><p>“They’ll believe you.”</p><p>“Then what’ll you say afterwards to them and Lori?”</p><p>Another pause. “I might tell them the truth.”</p><p>Fonzie ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Only if I’m there wich ya.”</p><p>Richie giggled softly and Fonzie felt his heart skip a beat. “Of course, Fonz.”</p><p>The mechanic smiled tenderly at the phone cord, his only connection to the man he’s loved for years. “Can I call you later? Not tonight, obviously, but sometime soon?”</p><p>“Yeah, I could try to work something out.”</p><p>“Perfect.”</p><p>Richie giggled again. “See ya later, Arthur. I hope everything goes well on your end.”</p><p>“I’ll see ya, Richard. Same goes for you too.”</p><p><em> Click </em>.</p><p>He was now alone in the kitchen with the phone in his hand. He got up and put the phone back. There was a grin on his face that he had to wipe off as soon as he walked into the living room. Howard was fighting back Marion from getting the phone and Fonzie allowed himself to chuckle softly.</p><p>“She didn’t hear a word you said, Fonzie,” Howard reassured him. “I made sure of that.”</p><p>“And I thank you for that, Mr. C.” Really, Mr. Cunningham would never know how much it meant to him that Richie’s parents didn’t listen in on their conversation.</p><p>Marion blushed and looked away from the mechanic. “I’m sorry Fonzie, but I just wanted to talk to my son for a moment.”</p><p>Fonzie shrugged. “I get it, Mrs. C. No hard feelings, really.”</p><p>“So what did you tell Richie?” she asked. Fonzie smiled a bit and replied, “I just told him how proud of him I was and a bunch of emotional stuff like that.”</p><p>“Oh dear, have you been crying?” Marion reached up to wipe the remaining tears on Fonzie’s face while he just chuckled.</p><p>“Yeah, I might’ve.”</p><p>“Aw,” Marion and Ralph said. Fonzie glared at Ralph and he raised his hands up in submission. Fonzie turned his attention to Howard when he said, “Now that you’ve had your talk with him, I hope you don’t mind if me and Marion would talk to him next.”</p><p>“Oh uh, about that,” Fonzie interjected. “He uh, was called to do some type of military duty while I was on the phone. I’m so sorry about that, Mr. and Mrs. C, Lori.”</p><p>Groans came from the crowd as Fonzie ducked his head down in shame. He felt bad that he had to ruin everything for them, but he still kept that knowledge that everything will get better once Richie gets back. With nothing to do and no ceremony to witness, people began to leave until an hour later, nobody was left. Fonzie told the Cunninghams he'll be in his room if they need him.</p><p>He walked into the garage and stretched. <em> It’s gonna feel like heaven when I take all this off</em>, Fonzie thought, yet he didn’t move to take his clothes off. Instead, he moved to grab a pen from his desk, then to the calendar hanging by the entrance. He wrote two letters on today’s date: “R.C.” If it meant Richard Cunningham to some, that was alright with Fonzie. He knew that it meant “Richard confessed”, and he really didn’t care if people got different meanings from those two simple letters. He checked the clock and decided to put an “X” on top of the letters as well. This one meant something as well, but not as an acronym.</p><p>With a wide grin, fluttering heart, and lifted soul, Fonzie thought, <em> This is just one less day to wait for Richie to come home and give him the kiss I’ve always wanted to give him. </em></p>
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